Fleeing Cleveland

Has anyone ever NOT been happy to leave Cleveland? Has anyone ever been happier to leave Cleveland (and this includes LeBron) than the 2011 Red Sox? After getting pummeled in Texas and iced in Ohio, the Boys of Summer are still searching for one element of their team to look anything like the juggernaut we were promised.

The offense sputtered in Game One of the Indians series, to put it mildly. In game two, Daisuke pitched just well enough to be behind when he left after five. Then the bullpen, assisted by a brainfart by two guys who should have known better, blew the doors off. Denys Reyes loaded the bases without an out in the sixth. The next batter lined one at Kevin Youkilis, who muffed it at third, picked it up, stepped on the bag and threw home to Varitek. But Tek hadn't seen Youk step on third, so he just tagged the plate even though the force was off. Ugh. It might be that kind of year. Dan Wheeler then placed a ball right where Asdrubal Cabrera wanted it, and Cabrera placed it in the stands. Where it took 45 minutes for the closest Cleveland fan to pick it up.

Thursday's matinee featured Jon Lester blanking the Tribe, and getting no support, with the team losing 1-0. The game ended on a baserunning snafu by Darnell McDonald. This season might have a little bit of everything; pencil in mid-June for the team's first walk-off balk.

It's probably a good thing that most of the interior scenes of "Major League" were actually filmed in Milwaukee's old County Stadium and not in Cleveland. Because if there was a chance that Harry Doyle's secret stash of booze was in the Jacobs Field press box, the Sox announcers likely would be spending more time looking for it than calling the game.

The good news? Adrian Gonzalez homered and is hitting 100 points better than anyone else on the team. And nobody froze to death.